Message for McTag-need help with scots language

"Sharp-faced" has the connotation of a pinched, mean-looking face; thin, unpleasant.

Hi. Are you sure you haven't heard Stag, Ramp and Hoity-Toity and Romp used as Scottish slang terms?

What is Scottish slang for a large strapping woman?

I was told I could use the terms "flam" and "strammel".

Hello Mctag. I hope you have a nice holiday.

An 'Arry, in the 19c-Early 20c, was the popular embodiment of the vulgar, rollicking, yet on the whole good natured rough of the great (British) metropolis. What is his Old Scottish slang counterpart?

I looked in Burns for an appropriate answer to this one

"And at his elbow, Souter Johnie,
His ancient, trusty, drougthy crony:
Tam lo'ed him like a very brither;
They had been fou for weeks thegither"

but was disappointed. It's kind of difficult to pin down- "chiel", "loon" (from loons and quinies- East Coast) to the modern "bear", none seems particularly satisfactory.
Chiel is the best I can come up with right now, and is an affectionate term, slightly patronising, but has no connotation of "rough".

Thank you for your help, Mctag, and happy new year!

Besides The Oxford English Dictionary second edition
Macleod's Scots Thesaurus
Slang and Its Analogues

What are the best dictionaries and thesaurues on Scots, and old and current Scottish slang?

I wish I knew why you want to know this stuff, my friend. It fair diz ma heid in, so it diz.

I never consult such sources myself, having enough trouble with English, but I am sure Glasgow University (try also Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St Andrews) publish studies and resource material on Scottish dialects from a historical perspective.
Indeed, there has been an attempt (I think by nationalist-inspired sources) to promote Lallans as a separate language, but I'm not so sure about the validity of that.
On current slang- I saw a website today, and I'll try to find it again now:

I can't find it, but I found this:

http://www.clyde-valley.com/glasgow/dialect.htm

not terribly serious.

A Guid New Year to ane an' a'

A guid new year to ane an' a'
An' mony may ye see,
An' during a' the years to come,
O happy may ye be.
An' may ye ne'er hae cause to mourn,
To sigh or shed a tear;
To ane an' a' baith great an' sma'
A hearty guid New year.

Chorus
A guid New Year to ane an' a'
An' mony may ye see,
An' during a' the years to come,
O happy may ye be.

-A traditional song sung on Ist January

Hello, Mctag. Have you ever heard the term

howdy

used for "costermonger" or "good-natured rough not neccessarily criminal"?

Are the terms Jock, Jockey and Jockette considered derogatory?

"howdy"- no, I haven't. I'll ask others.

"Jock" is not considered derogatory. It can be both neutral, and slightly affectionate.

Jockey and Jockette would be only used in a humorous way, I think, in the intended sense of being patronising.

I have a Scots mate who calls an idiot a "ballhead", (pronounced "bore heed")....it always makes me laugh.

Yes, ba' heid, to be precise.

In the first person, you will make him smile if you address him as "heid the ba' "- used e.g. to get someone's attention

Another friend of mine, from Northern Ireland, curses someone by calling them a "blurt" (?).

"Ah, ya blurt, ye"

I have no idea what this actually means, but it sounds suitably scathing when spoken in the correct accent.

Call your Scottish friend a glaikit gommeral, then step back.

McTag, do you have any friends from Ireland, England and Wales who post here regularly?

"Friends" is a very emotive word.

There are a few shady characters like Ellpus, but we don't talk about him.

I don't think I've ever seen a Welsh, but they are very elusive creatures, always out singing or playing rugby.

The Irish are here already.

Have been offline for a couple of days, McTag - I understand that you may have paid a visit to the Panadolian Valley? Hope you've recovered alright.

Mr Goldman - I may only be able to assist you with exact words or phrases from the Irish language. I have little or no knowledge of slang / etymo-whatever. Feel free to ask anyway and i'll see what I can do.

Here's a Scottish slant on early American history, seen today:

http://heritage.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=261&id=346502005

(ed: that link's not accurate enough, I meant the article (use link) on the bottom of the page, right side.)

McT